


Tangled in Fate

by SquiddlesScribbles



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-04-17 20:43:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4680791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquiddlesScribbles/pseuds/SquiddlesScribbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a tragic disaster in Ahiru's young life, she eventually finds herself having to be adopted. This leads her to a whole new experience for her; high school. However, lucky for her, its a private school. Here she finds herself facing conflict of having to work on a project with a partner, one whom she does not seem to get along with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

A small girl, who couldn’t be any older than twelve, sat by her window whilst she stared down at the people who walked by her house. She sighed softly and turned, then jumped when she saw her mother standing in the doorway. “What do you want?” The girl nearly hissed as her eyebrows knit together slightly.

“Ahiru... Your father and I are going to the market for a quick trip. Would you like to join us?” The tall woman asked. A small smile adorned her worn features as she looked at her daughter.

Ahiru rolled her eyes and she turned back to face the window. “No, mom.” She said in an exasperated tone. She didn’t hear her mom say anything else, so she assumed she left.

Her assumption was proved to be correct when she saw her mother and father walk out the front door to their car. Ahiru sat back and pulled out a book, as she once again let out a sigh. Right now she was mad at her mother for not letting her wear eyeliner. It was so unfair! The other girls at her school got to, so why couldn’t she? The petite redhead set her head back and closed her eyes before she accidentally fell asleep.

...

Ahiru was suddenly jerked awake by loud banging on the front door. Her blue eyes snapped open and she yawned as she got up to answer the door. She rubbed her eyes as she opened the door and looked up, surprised when she saw two officers standing there. A cold chill ran up her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. “Um… D-did something happen? Am... I in trouble..?” Her bottom lip quivered as tears sprung up in her eyes.

One of the officers, the one that seemed to be older, shook his head and knelt down to place his hand on her thin shoulder. “Miss Arima?” She nodded slightly. “I’m sorry to inform you of this but…” He looked back at his partner before turning back to her. “...Your parents both perished in a… car accident.” Ahiru’s blue eyes opened in shock and she shook her head.

“Nuh-uh!” She said, still shaking her head. “Y-you got the wrong house! My mom and dad just went to the store! They’ll be back any minute!”

She heard a car pull up and the doors opening and closing and her face lit up. “See! It’s…” Her face dropped when she saw her two best friends, Lillie and Pike, and their parents walking up with sad expressions. Pike and Lillie walked to her sides and hugged her while their parents spoke with the police. Ahiru stood in shock as tears rolled down her cheeks. All while this happened, only one thought kept repeating in her head; “I didn’t even say goodbye…”

...

After her parents died, Ahiru was sent to live at a foster home until she could be adopted. It took a year or so of waiting until someone finally decided to take her in. She was sitting on her bed reading a book when the woman came in. Her soft blue eyes looked up and she quickly set her book down and stood up once she saw her. The woman had mint green hair styled in an intricate updo with features enhanced with makeup that made her look like a doll. Her foster mother had walked in as well and smiled kindly at Ahiru. “Ahiru, this is Miss Edel. She’s here to talk and get to know you a bit more.” The small redhead nodded and smiled a bit as she held her hand out for Edel to shake.

“Hi Miss Edel! I’m Ahiru Arima! You probably already knew that… Um, you can call me Duck if you want! That’s what my friends call me, or what they used to call me, but you can call me that too!” She talked quickly and smiled a tad wider.

Edel smiled and laughed softly and took her hand, shaking it slightly. “Nice to meet you too, Miss Duck.”

“Oh! I forgot to say that! Not that it’s not nice to meet you of course, I just forgot to say it ahaha..!” She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head.

“It’s fine, Ahiru. Would you like to come with me and your foster mother to get some lunch, and we can talk then?” Edel asked her. Ahiru nodded excitedly and the three of them walked out of the house together and down the street to a small local diner. It was rarely packed with more than a few people, and was the perfect place to have a nice conversation. They walked in and sat down at a booth, with Ahiru on one side and Edel and her foster mom on the other. When a server came around, the two adults ordered coffee whilst Ahiru just got some tea.

“So… What do you want to talk about?” Ahiru asked as she stirred some sugar and honey into her tea.

“Well… As you must have guessed, Miss Edel here is thinking of adopting you! Of course only if it’s okay with you.” Her foster mother said in a cheery tone. Ahiru’s eyes widened as a wide smile stretched across her face.

“R-really?” Edel nodded. “W-wow… I... I can’t thank you enough! Oh my gosh…”

“So is that a yes?” Edel asked, an amused smile gracing her features.

“Y-yes!” Ahiru shouted. She looked around in embarrassment as she noticed she accidentally attracted the attention of the other people in the diner. The small girl sunk into her seat with a slight blush on her cheeks. “I-I mean… Yes…” She said in a softer tone.

The three of them laughed together and spent the rest of the afternoon talking.

...

A few months later, after all of the paperwork had been filled out, it was time for Ahiru to pack her bags and say goodbye to the house that had been her home for the last two years. She didn’t have very many clothes or belongings, so most of her stuff fit in only a small bag which she slung over her shoulder. The only things she had were a few articles of clothing, two books, and a necklace that was her mother’s. It was a simple red oval shaped gem attached to a chain. Ahiru never took it off. She started to walk out of her room before she stopped and turned to wave her hand in a gesture to say “goodbye”. Ahiru was sad to leave, but she was also happy to finally have a permanent home again. At the door, she hugged her foster mom and promised to call once she got settled in.

Edel was waiting for her in the foyer and helped her with her bag once she pulled away from the hug. The two of them walked out the door and to Edel’s car, where she opened the door to the back seat for the young girl before she got in on the driver’s side. Edel started the car and pulled out of the driveway, turning and driving down the road. Ahiru couldn’t wait to get to the house. So far she’s only seen pictures of it, and from what she’s seen, it’s really big. According to Edel, she had a big garden full of beautiful flowers and the room Ahiru was going to live in had a window that faced the backyard, so she would be able to see the garden and the sunrise every morning. After a few minutes of driving, Edel pulled into a cul-de-sac and parked in the driveway of one of the few houses there. Ahiru quickly got out of the car and stared up at the beautiful house in front of her.

“Wow… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house that big before!” Ahiru exclaimed, which made Edel laugh softly as she pulled Ahiru’s bag out of the car.

“Yes, I guess it is quite large.” Edel said while she walked up to the front door. “Well, come on. It’s always going to be this big. You can explore later, but right now I want you to wash up while I make dinner.”

Ahiru nodded and quickly walked up after her. “Yessir!” Ahiru saluted playfully before she ran up to the room Edel said was hers.

She stepped in and almost immediately a large smile stretched across her face. Ahiru placed her bag on the bed and sat down whilst she looked around the large room in wonder. She jumped up as she remembered she was supposed to be washing up and quickly walked to the bathroom to run a bath. She sat on the toilet seat while she waited for the tub to fill and read one of her books. After a few minutes she set her book down and pulled her clothes off before she got in the hot water. She let out a soft sigh. It’s been awhile since she’s been able to relax like this. Ahiru set her head back and closed her eyes to take a moment and enjoy the heat of the water before she quickly scrubbed the dirt from her body and tried herself off. She pulled out a simple yellow cotton dress and pulled it on before she sat down to brush and braid her hair. After she finished, she walked back downstairs to the kitchen where Edel had just finished making dinner. Ahiru quickly set the table with nice plates and silverware and sat down with her new guardian.

“So, Ahiru, since you’re living with me now, I was thinking I would enroll you into a private highschool.” Ahiru opened her mouth to speak, but Edel had lifted her hand in a gesture to wait. “I know you’ve been homeschooled for the past couple years, but I feel highschool would be a good time to get back into an actual school.”

Ahiru nodded as a look of excitement flashed on her face. “That sounds cool! When do the classes start?” She asked.

“In a few weeks. In the meantime, I’ll be getting your books and uniform.” Edel said with a nod towards Ahiru as she sipped from her drink.

“Okay! Are you done eating? Because I can do the dishes if you would like...” Edel nodded and Ahiru stood up and took both of their plates to the kitchen to be washed

Later that night Ahiru laid awake in her bed late at night while she stared up at the ceiling. It had always been hard for her to fall asleep in an unfamiliar setting, and now was no different. She sighed and rolled over so she would stare up at the wall instead. She, sadly, was not able to fall asleep until much later in the night which would become more like morning.


	2. New Day, New Beginnings

It was the beginning of September when classes started. Ahiru already had her schedule and picked out a few after school clubs she wanted to be in―theatre and ballet―and was now on her way to the school. Edel sadly had to work that morning, so Ahiru had to walk alone. She felt her stomach churning with nerves as she walked up to the large building. Goldkrone High School had a very large main building with other, slightly smaller, buildings around it. In the main building was the cafeteria, the library, the main office, the auditorium, and the teachers’ lounge. The other buildings were the language building, the maths building, the social studies building, the sports building, and the largest one of them all, the extra-curricular and co-curricular building. In the extracurricular side of the building was all of the rooms for the clubs, and on the co-curricular side was the building for the choir room and band/orchestra room.

Ahiru had picked theatre and ballet as her extracurricular because she remembered her mom telling her about being in both, as well as the fact that Ahiru had been taking ballet lessons since she was little. Even while she was living with her foster mom, she had practiced her ballet. As for theatre, she always thought she was good at acting but never got a chance to really show it.

The small redhead sighed to try to calm her nerves as she walked into the maths building and to her classroom. Ahiru sat down in the back of the class and slumped down in her seat, and rested her head on her desk.

She could already tell today was going to be a long day.

...

After her classes, she quickly ran over to the extracurricular building. She was late, so late! Ahiru knew it was against the rules to run in the halls but she didn’t want to be late to her first ballet lesson. Just as she rounded a corner, she slammed into someone’s chest. Or a brick wall. She couldn't tell. She started to fall back and time seemed to move in slow motion as whoever she ran into turned to catch her by quickly wrapping his arm around her torso, therefore ceasing her movement towards the ground. Ahiru slowly opened her eyes to see a pair of sharp dark green eyes staring back at her, which made a slight blush form on her cheeks. Whoever it was narrowed his eyes and pulled his arm away and let her fall.

“Idiot! Watch where you’re going.” The guy said, but Ahiru didn’t hear him. She had been staring up at him in almost awe as her eyes darted across his body. The man was tan and had the most beautiful dark forest green eyes and long black hair that had a green tint to it somehow. He rolled his eyes and continued walking towards the dance hall before he turned and walked into the ballet room.

Oh no. Ahiru thought as she quickly stood up and grabbed her bag. I’m gonna be late! She quickly rushed off and into the ballet room. She almost ran into another person, but was somehow able to stop herself in time. She barely had time to change into her leotard and put her hair up in a bun before the teacher started roll call.

“Ah, so we have a new student joining us today. Everyone welcome Miss Ahiru Arima.” The instructor, Mr. Kat, said.

Ahiru looked around at all of the people looking at her and pointed to herself. “Me?” The instructor nodded as a slightly irritated look crossed his features. “Oh, well um, I-I’m glad to be here?” She said as more of a question than a statement.

“Mrr… Yes well can you come to the back room with me? I need you to take a small test so I can determine where you’re at.”

“Okay!” Ahiru nodded and followed him to the back room, which was basically just a mini version of the main room.

He began by asking her to do a few of the basic poses, then had her sit down and take a small test on some of the ballet terms. Afterwards, he had her go back out to the main room and do some stretches while he graded the test. Ahiru nodded and walked out to the main room and over to one of the bars and shifted to place her leg on it to begin her stretches. After she did that for a bit, she sat down on the floor with her legs in front of her and stretched to touch her toes. She was too focused on stretching that she didn’t notice when someone walked over to her until they lightly touched her shoulder. She sat up and looked up at the person and saw a pair of gentle golden eyes looking down at her. She blinked and quickly stood up. “You’re Ahiru right?” He asked as she looked around nervously as if to make sure it was her he was talking to.

“Um, y-yes! And you are?”

“I’m Mytho, it’s nice to meet you Ahiru.” He lightly took her hand in his and bowed to place a kiss on her knuckles.

A dark blush spread on her cheeks and she let out a small nervous giggle. “I-it’s nice to meet you too, Mytho..”

“Mytho! What are you doing?” The guy from earlier, the one Ahiru ran into, walked over. A feeling of dread overcame her as she saw his cold green eyes.

“Oh, Fakir. I was just saying hello to the new girl.” Mytho pulled his hand away and immediately Ahiru missed the warmth it gave.

“Don’t do something so useless. You should be stretching.” Fakir said while he crossed his arms and shot Ahiru a dirty look. Ahiru stuck her tongue out in return.

“Okay.” Mytho walked back over to where he was before with Fakir.

Hmph.. That Fakir guy doesn’t have to be so mean to Mytho… Ahiru sighed and went back to stretching.

Her head whipped up when she heard a high-pitched, and somehow familiar, squeal and then someone tackle her in a hug. “Ahiru! I didn’t know you were coming to this school!” She heard from above her.

“Pike? Lillie?” Ahiru asked. The blonde who was hugging her nodded.

“You didn’t even recognize us? How tragic!” Lillie said dramatically.

Pike pulled the blonde off Ahiru with a sigh. “Lille, she talked to us just yesterday. She probably just didn’t see us because she was in such a rush.” Pike shifted to hug Ahiru lightly and pulled away.

“Yeah! S-sorry..” Ahiru smiled a bit.

“It’s fine. Don’t beat yourself up-!” Just as Pike was about to finish her sentence as Mr. Kat walked out and clapped his hands together.

“Everyone get in a line!” He ordered and the students scrambled to do as he said. “Ahiru here will be staying here in the intermediate class with the rest of you.” Pike and Lillie cheered softly so only the three of them could hear it. “As for our lesson today, I will get to in a moment. Soon I will be putting you into partners.” A couple people groaned, but Ahiru was kind of glad he was picking the partners so she wouldn’t have to go through the awkwardness of not finding a partner. “The partners are Mytho and Rue,” Ahiru was a bit disappointed that she didn’t get Mytho. The teacher kept listing off names until only four people had yet to be partnered up. It was only Pike, Lillie, Ahiru, and Fakir left. Ahiru really hoped she got either Pike or Lillie. She didn’t want to be paired up with mean Fakir. “Mrr… Pike and Lillie. Hmm, looks like you’re paired up with Miss Ahiru, Fakir. Okay, get into your pairs.”

Fakir begrudgingly walked over to Ahiru without saying anything. “For today’s, and for the rest of the week’s, lesson you all will be picking out a piece of music and coming up with some dance steps for it. At the end of the week, you will be performing the pas de deux in front of the class.” Mr. Katz pulled out a bunch of CDs and set them on a desk. “Now come and pick out your music. Once you have it, you can go home and practice.” Fakir walked over and picked up a random CD before walking back.

“You can dance en pointe, right?” He asked.

“Um… Y-yeah!” Ahiru smiled nervously. She could, but not for every long. She hated lying, but at the same time she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. “So um, do you want to come over to my house then…?”

Fakir thought about it for a moment before he nodded. “Sure.”

Ahiru smiled. “Sweet! We can walk home then!”

Fakir glared at her. “This stupid project doesn’t mean we’re friends now.” Ahiru’s smile dropped slightly in disappointment.

“...Right… I’ll go change and we can go…”

Ahiru walked to the girls’ locker room and changed quickly. She stuffed her leotard and ballet flats into her bag and rushed out of the locker room while she was still braiding her red hair. She skid to a stop as she almost ran into Fakir again. “Ready!” They started walking to her house.

It only took a few minutes to reach the cul-de-sac, and Ahiru pulled out her key to unlock the front door. “Miss Edel is at work right now, meaning we have the house to ourselves right now. So we can play that music as loud as we need!”

“‘Miss Edel’? You don’t refer to your mother as ‘mom’?” Fakir asked as his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“Oh! Well,” She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck. “She’s not really my mom.. Um, she just adopted me a few weeks ago!”

“Oh…” He seemed to be slightly embarrassed now. “Where will we be practicing, then?”

“We can practice in my room if you want! I think it’s big enough.” Ahiru lead him upstairs to her room.

They both set their bags on her bed and Ahiru grabbed the CD to put in her laptop. She waited for the music to start with a small smile on her face. “I’m gonna go change back into my leotard, so I’ll be right back!” Ahiru quickly grabbed her bag and walked to the bathroom. Fakir sat down on the bed and pulled out his ballet shoes to put on. He was focused on the sound of the music as he tried to map out part of the dance. Ahiru walked back out a few minutes later, clad in her leotard and ballet flats.

They then spent the rest of the afternoon planning out their dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna upload this chapter to get it over with. Chapter two will be out by next Saturday.


	3. Reaping the Riches

“Idiot!”

It was the second day of working on their projects and only now are they trying to actually do the dance. This was also the fourth time Ahiru had stepped on Fakir’s foot.

“S-stop calling me that you- you jerk!” Ahiru shouted back at him. Everyone in the class turned their heads to stare at the bickering partners.

“I wouldn’t call you that if you weren’t one!” Fakir yelled back. He crossed his arms and glared down at her with his piercing green eyes while she glared up at him with her soft blue ones. They had been fighting the whole time, but no one had stepped in or interviened.

“I’m not an idiot! It’s not my fault your feet are so big and keep getting under mine!” Ahiru couldn’t believe how mean he was being!

“Well it’s not my fault you’re too clumsy to look where you put your feet-! You know what, let’s just try it again...” He sighed exasperatedly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Fakir knew she wasn’t going to back down, so he decided he should be the mature one this time.

“Hmph… Fine...” Ahiru huffed and reluctantly got back into position with him.

They started off with something like a waltz before the moves became a bit more intricate and soon Ahiru had to start dancing en pointe. She pushed herself up onto the tips on her toes which made her legs shake slightly. She was just barely able to hold it long enough for her to go back to dancing regularly. Then she had to get closer to Fakir as they went back to a standard waltz. She got back on pointe to do a pirouette before Fakir placed his hand on the small of her back for a dip.

Though before he could actually get her back up, Mr. Kat clapped his hands together loudly which made Fakir jump a bit and drop Ahiru. The small redhead let out a small squeak and glared up at him. “Fakir, you-!”

“Everyone! In a line!” Mr. Kat called. All of the students walked over and got in a line in front of their teacher and waited while he cleared his throat. “I forgot to mention yesterday, if your performances are as good as I expect them to be, you will be performing them in front of the rest of the school. If that does happen, you will have to make your own costumes. Out of all of you, I will pick one pair to do this.” The students looked around at each other and chatted excitedly. “Mrr… Silence! That is only if your performance is the best of the class. Do not disappoint me! Now, get back to work!” The man shouted to get the point across as the students began returning to their places mid sentence.

Ahiru and Fakir both sighed and walked back to where they were before starting to dance again.

…

The rest of the week passed with both Fakir and Ahiru feeling very sore and very ready to get this project over with. They walked into the room with the rest of the students and sat down as Mr. Kat ordered them to do. They were going to be the last ones to go up, so they got to watch all of the competition. Ahiru felt her stomach churning from nerves, just like on her first day. As if sensing this, Fakir looked over at her. “Don’t be nervous. As long as you don’t screw up, we’ll do fine.” He whispered to her and a small smile appeared on her lips.

“Thank you, Fakir!” A slight blush heated his tan cheeks.

“Whatever…” He looked away and crossed his arms, which made Ahiru giggle.

“Students! Settle down. Our first pair performing will be Lillie and Pike.” Mr. Kat stepped back and sat down on a chair in front of the makeshift stage at the front of the room. They entered their CD into the player, waited a moment, then walked back to their places once the music began to play. As they started dancing it became somewhat obvious they didn’t practice it much, since they forgot most of their moves. When they finished, the two girls bowed while a few students clapped for them.

They sat through the rest of the dances, most of them seemed to be thrown together last minute while others were very well thought out. Though sooner than Ahiru had hoped, it was time for her and Fakir to go up to the stage. What if I mess up? What if I forget how to dance en pointe? Or what if while I’m on pointe, I step on Fakir’s foot again? All of these thoughts passed through Ahiru’s head as she walked up to the stage. She stretched briefly while Fakir set up their CD before together they got in their positions as they waited for it to actually start.

Once they heard the first few piano keys being struck, they started to move. They began with a waltz, before they separated and Ahiru did a pirouette and skipped over to him to do a slight dip and twist. He placed his hands on her narrow waist and picked her up, then spun her around and placed her back on the ground. Now was the time when she had to dance en pointe. She bit her lip and pushed herself up on her toes again to do pirouette piquée. They did a dance that was like a standard waltz with hints of ballet mixed in before he shifted his hand to her lower back and dipped her down again. When they finished, Fakir did a slight bow while Ahiru curtseyed and they both walked off the stage while the students clapped.

They sat back down and Ahiru smiled excitedly at Fakir. Mr. Kat stood up and raised his hand to silence the chattering students. “Wonderful performances, all of you. I will have the placements posted on the board tomorrow. You’re all free to change and go.”

Everyone got up and walked to the locker rooms to change and go home. Ahiru couldn’t wait to go home and tell Edel about her day.

Ahiru ran home and pulled out her key to unlock the front door before she walked in. “Miss Edel! Guess what!” Ahiru rushed to the sitting room, where Edel normally was when she got home. She found her in her favorite chair reading and walked over. She sat down on the couch in front of the woman and started talking about everything that happened that day.

After they finished their talk and ate, Ahiru headed up to her room and got ready for bed. She really wanted tomorrow to come, so she could see who would win. She assumed it would be Rue and Mytho, since they seemed to have the best dance. She took off her pendant, the one she got from her mother, and sighed as she laid down on her bed. Ahiru hugged one of her pillows to her chest and stared up at the ceiling. Even though she knew she probably didn’t, she kind of hoped that she and Fakir won. It would be nice to finally win something… A small yawn escaped her lips and she gently closed her eyes with the thoughts of winning in her head as she drifted off to sleep.

…

That afternoon, after school, Ahiru had quickly ran to the extracurricular building and down to the dance hall. She rounded a corner and rushed into the ballet room and to the locker room. She pulled on her leotard and pointe shoes while she tied up her hair and rushed to the board in the back of the room. Everyone was crowded around it. Soon a the crowd became more sparse as people walked away with disappointed expressions. When Ahiru found a spot to squeeze in, she tip-toed around people and soon found her way to the front. She read the list from bottom to top, to save who the winners were for last. She saw Pike and Lillie didn’t place too high, nor too low. She was surprised to see Mytho and Rue only placed second… But then who was first? Her eyes widened dramatically when she saw hers and Fakir’s name next to a “1.”

“Wh-what?!” She cried, a large smile spreading across her lips. She turned and nearly ran into Fakir’s chest. “We won!”

“Yeah, I know. I saw the list too, idiot.” He said as he rolled his eyes.

“Doesn't that mean we’ll have to make our own costumes to perform in front of the school…?” Ahiru asked and Fakir nodded.

“Why? Do you already have an idea of what kind of outfit’s we’ll have?” Fakir asked as he brushed a stray piece of hair out of his face.

“Kind of… I have to see if they’ll fit though...” Ahiru said and smiled once again.

“Okay.” He replied with a slight nod and shrug.

They resumed the rest of their lessons in class for the day and met up with Mr. Kat at the end of the class just as other students began to leave. “As you both know already, you will be making your own costumes for your dance. I just want you to know that, even though I know I said they had to be made, you can still buy them if you need to.”

“Oh, it’s okay Mr. Kat! I already have the outfits, I just need to make sure they’ll fit right.” Ahiru said.

“Mrr... Alright then. You will need them by Friday night. You’re dismissed.” He waved his hand in a gesture for them to get out and they did so.

“Do you really already have the costumes made?” Fakir asked.

“Sorta… I have to go get them from storage… Um, you can come with me if you want!” Ahiru said and smiled nervously.

“Hmm…” Fakir thought in silence for a moment then he nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Okay! We can go right now. The storage unit is only a few streets down.” Ahiru said as she walked out of the building. Fakir kept up with her but Ahiru was still a pace or two behind him.

They walked in an awkward silence until they got to the building. Ahiru pulled a small key out of her bag and pushed it into the lock before she turned it. She then lifted open the garage like door to show off the small, cluttered, room. It was full of boxes and other assorted things just laying around. Ahiru looked around for a box that said “ballet” on it. It took her a full ten minutes to find it and when she did, it took another five minutes to get it out from under another couple boxes. When she did she kneeled down and opened it up to pull out two costumes and lay them out. The first was a white ballet tutu with pink ruffles under the white skirt and light yellow wings, pink pointe shoes, a red dragonfly-like pendant, and a tiara. The second was a white button up shirt with a white cravat, black vest, black tights, and white pointe shoes.

“What are these from?” Fakir asked as he stared down at the two costumes.

“Oh, um, they are- were, my mother and father’s before they quit ballet to have me… These particular costumes are from The Prince and the Raven. They’re Princess Tutu and the Knight… Have you heard the story of The Prince and the Raven, Fakir?”

Fakir nodded slightly. “Yeah… The prince took out his own heart to seal the raven away, right?”

“Yep! It’s my favorite story! Probably because of the ending… How Princess Kraehe and Prince Seigfried go off to get married, and Princess Tutu and the Knight live happily ever after! But I heard in the original version of it, Princess Tutu turns into the speck of light and vanishes, and the Knight is cut into two by the Raven! It’s so sad.”

“Your parents performed this play?” Fakir asked.

“Mmhm! It’s how they met actually… They didn’t like each other at first, but then soon they slowly grew to love each other. It was so romantic.” Ahiru sighed with a small smile on her face. “A-anyway, I should probably take these back and get them cleaned up for Friday… Um, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

They both stood up and went their separate ways for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading thus far!
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome!


	4. Dance Until You Can't Dance Anymore

Friday came far quicker than Ahiru expected and soon she was pulling on her “Princess Tutu” costume. Over the week she had fixed up both costumes and made them look good as new. Ahiru stood backstage with Fakir and peeked out to see the students. It wasn’t a lot of students, only two hundred, but still she couldn’t help but feel nervous. This was her first time performing in front of more than ten people, and she was worried she was going to mess up. She turned to Fakir, a scared expression on her face. “Fakir… What if I do something wrong..?”

Fakir rolled his eyes. “We’ve practiced this dance over a hundred times. You’re not going to do anything wrong, idiot.” He said as he crossed his arms.

“R-right…” Ahiru peeked out at the audience again and saw Mytho in the front row. Well, of course he was in the front row… All of the ballet students were… But it still calmed her nerves to see him there. She looked around a bit and spotted Pike and Lillie chatting. Lillie was probably talking about Ahiru failing, and Pike was probably trying to get her to stop… Ahiru’s eyes darted back to Mytho again and her shoulders relaxed.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the house lights dimmed and Mr. Kat walked out on the stage and cleared his throat before he spoke. “Ahem, thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and watch two of my students perform one of their own dances. So, without further adieu, Fakir and Ahiru.”

The crowd applauded briefly as the music started and the curtain rose. Ahiru and Fakir were in position for a waltz, as they always did when the dance started, before they had pulled away and began their dance. After a couple pirouettes and such, Ahiru had to push herself up onto the very tips of her toes, which made her legs shake a bit, and moved with tiny steps that made it seem as if she were gliding across the stage and into Fakir’s arms. He placed his hands on her waist and lifted her into the air as he slowly spun her around before he set her back down. She glided around him and he placed his hand on the small of her back and put his arm out to dip her down. Her leg went up and rested on his arm while her other one stayed on pointe. She stared up into his dark forest green eyes as her breath escaped her. They stayed in the position for a moment before they moved again to continue the dance. Time seemed to slow down as Ahiru got back on full pointe and tried to do another pirouette, but her legs started shaking from too much strain and they collapsed beneath her.

Ahiru cried out in pain as she landed on her ankle. A few people in the crowd gasped and others, mostly people not in the ballet club, thought it was just a part of the dance. “Take her to the nurse!” One of the students shouted. “No, call 911!” Someone else yelled. Fakir stared down at Ahiru’s pained face in shock. Of all the things he was expecting to happen, that was not one of them. By now one of the staff members had called the paramedics and they had arrived and were already lifting Ahiru’s small body onto a gurney to carry her to the ambulance.

Fakir went back into the ballet locker room and hastily changed into his casual clothes before he rushed over to the local hospital, where a small group of people were already waiting. Pike, Lillie, Mytho, and Edel were sitting waiting to hear the news when Fakir walked over and sat down next to Mytho.

“Mytho? What are you doing here?” Fakir asked. He didn’t remember having seen Mytho speak to Ahiru much, so he didn’t understand why he would be here.

“Ahiru is my friend. Why are you here? I thought you said you couldn’t stand to be around her.” Mytho looked up at him, his expression curious.

“She’s... Erm, my partner… I mean my dance partner. I figured the best course of action would be to offer her moral support...” Fakir forced a nervous cough along with a glance around the room.

A doctor walked out and Edel stood up to talk to him. After a few minutes the doctor turned to the small group. “Is Ahiru going to be okay?” Pike asked as she also stood up beside Edel.

The doctor nodded with a kind smile on his worn face. “Yes, she only sprained her ankle. As long as she keeps off it for a few weeks, it should heal normally. You can all go see her, but she’s resting now so don’t be in too long.” They all stood up and walked to the room to see her.

Ahiru was laying back in the hospital bed with her right leg in a pink brace. Lillie quickly rushed over to give Ahiru a bone-crushing hug but Pike stopped her just in time. “Lillie! She already has her ankle sprained, do you want to put her in a full body cast?”

“Oh, no! That would be too tragic! We would have to do everything for her! She would be so defenseless and cute!” Lillie said as a smile spread on her face.

While everyone talked to Ahiru, they all wanted to know what had happened, Fakir stayed in the back with his arms crossed and rolled his eyes. He didn’t really know why he was even here anymore. He only came to see if she was okay… And yet, he didn’t want to leave either. Soon Pike, Lillie, and Mytho said their goodbyes and walked out, leaving just Edel and Fakir in the room.

“Fakir, you know you can go home if you want.. You don’t have to stay for my sake!” Ahiru said as she smiled at him.

Fakir was silent for a moment. “...I’ll stay. We don’t have school tomorrow, but Miss Edel has to work, right? I can stay for the night...”

Edel nodded. “Indeed. I do have work early in the morning, and cannot afford to be late or call off. I guess I should be taking my leave then. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, Ahiru.” The woman gave Ahiru a gentle hug before she too left. Now it was just Fakir. He pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down, then leaned back.

“So… How are you feeling?” He asked.

“I feel great! My ankle kind of hurts, but other than that I’m fine…” Ahiru answered with a smile still on her face.

“That’s good…” Things seemed to be turning awkward now. “Uhh… You should get some rest. If you need anything, I’m right here...”

Ahiru nodded and closed her eyes. A small sigh escaped her lips as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Fakir sighed as well and rested his forehead on the side of the bed. Soon his eyelids felt heavier and he too fell asleep.

…

“...ir… akir… Fakir!” Fakir’s head snapped up and his eyes took a moment to focus.

“...Huh?” Ahiru was looking down at him with an amused expression.

“I asked if you could hand me my water..” She smiled a bit in embarrassment for having woken him.

Fakir nodded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and he reached for the glass of water on the moveable table beside him. He handed it to her and settled back down in his chair. “Sorry for falling asleep...”

“It’s okay! It was late and I’m sure you were tired…” Ahiru gave the glass back to him to put on the table before she sighed, settling back into the hospital bed. She rested her head against the pillow and glanced back over at Fakir, who had set his head against the side of her bed again, already faded back into sleep. She smiled softly at the teenager beside her. He looked so peaceful as he slept, since his face didn’t look as cold and mean as it did when he was awake and yelling at her. There was something about his sleeping face that almost seemed to make Ahiru relax. She wished she could see it more often.

Ahiru was only in the hospital for a day or two after that, and was soon allowed to go home. She wasn’t allowed to dance for 2 weeks while her ankle healed, so Mr. Kat had her observe each lesson and take notes on it, as well as a few written tests on what she saw. Even after two weeks had passed, she had to take it easy. Which meant she wasn’t supposed to dance en pointe for another couple weeks. For most of the lessons, she was just doing stretches and other simple things, so she was at least doing something slightly productive. At least she got to use this time to practice the basics and relearn some of the stuff she had forgotten over the years.

Pike and Lillie had helped her carry her stuff to her classes during the day, and during ballet lessons she took every chance she got to talk to Mytho. She could feel herself developing a small crush on him and did nothing to stop it, even though she knew he was already with someone. During ballet one day she caught herself thinking about him while doing her stretches and she sighed with a small smile on her face. She couldn’t get his kind honey colored eyes out of her head. Suddenly she felt a small tap on her shoulder and her head snapped up as she pushed her leg too far up and yelped softly in pain. Ahiru let go of her leg and lightly rubbed her thigh as she looked up to see who was trying to get her attention.

As soon as she turned her head up, a poster was shoved in her face. “Ahiru, look! The first play of the semester is already decided! They’re doing Romeo and Juliet!” Lillie say excitedly.

“First play of the semester…?” Ahiru forgot the next semester was starting soon! The 2nd semester was when she was going to start going to theatre along with her ballet.

“Yeah, you forgot already?” Pike placed her hands on her hips. Ahiru didn’t even notice her standing next to Lillie. “I kind of wish they were doing a different play though… Romeo and Juliet is such a cliché.”

“Indeed… But it’s still so romantic!” Lillie sighed, giving a look that said she was day dreaming for a moment as she batted her eyelashes.

“Don’t they both die at the end though? How is that romantic?” Pike asked as she turned her head to look at Lillie with a confused look across her face, an eyebrow raising.

“Yes! That’s what makes it so romantic! Romeo thinks Juliet dies, so he takes his own life just to be with her! But instead, she’s still alive and she too takes her own life when she sees Romeo’s lifeless body! They are lovers doomed to be apart!” Lillie said passionately.

“Wow, you really like that play…” Ahiru said.

“Of course I d-” Lillie started to say, but Pike cut her off.

“That’s not the point! We heard Mytho is going to try out for the part of Romeo! You have to try out for the part of Juliet!” Pike said excitedly.

“I also heard a rumor there is a kiss in the script!” Lillie said as she glared briefly at Pike for cutting her off.

“I… I don’t know guys… I’m not very good at acting…” Ahiru said and nervously looked down at the ground.

“You should still try out, Ahiru dear! That way Pike and I can comfort you when you fail-” Pike elbowed Lillie in the ribs and she sputtered slightly as she shot another glare at her. “I mean, if you fail…”

“It’ll never hurt to try!” Pike said before Mr. Kat clapped his hands together, signaling the attention of the class.

“Lessons are over for the day! You can all go home.” He announced on his way to his office. Ahiru was about to walk to the locker room with all of the other girls until she saw Mytho walking into the backroom alone. The backroom was where students stayed to practice on their own, mostly for when there was either a competition, a test of some sort, or for staying even after they were allowed to go home. Ahiru assumed it was the last thing as she followed him back there.

She pressed her ear against the door to try to hear what he was doing and heard music. Upon further inspection, she found out it was music from the Nutcracker, a widely known ballet. She tried to slowly open the door and peek in, but instead slipped and threw the door open as she stumbled into the room.

“Ahiru?” Came Mytho’s surprised voice from above her. “Are you okay?”

Ahiru stood up and laughed nervously. “Ahaha! O-of course! I- um, sorry for bothering you!”

“It’s okay. Do you know this dance, Ahiru?” Mytho asked asked.

Ahiru nodded. “Oh yes! It’s from The Nutcracker, right?” Mytho nodded, a small amused smile gracing his perfect lips. “I-I loved that play!”

“Well, would you like to dance with me?” Mytho asked as he held his hand out for her.

Ahiru stepped towards him, hesitantly placing her hand on his as they started dancing with Mytho as the prince and Ahiru as the sugar plum fairy.

After they had finished, Ahiru had smiled brightly at Mytho. “Wow! You’re such a good dancer!” She gushed with a light blush heating her cheeks.

“You are too, Ahiru.” Mytho smiled kindly at her. “We should dance together more often, once your ankle is healed properly.”

“Definitely!” Ahiru curtsied to him before she quickly left the room with a big smile on her face. She giggled to herself as she changed into her regular clothes, and while she walked home. That night she went to bed with dreams about dancing with Mytho.


	5. It Was Like a Dream

The next afternoon when Ahiru arrived at the extracurricular building, she quickly walked over to grab a signup sheet and script before she headed over to the ballet room. Ahiru sat down and filled out the sheet before she got back up and turned it in. While she stretched she read over the script to try to memorize as much as she could. They were holding auditions today and tomorrow, so she could wait until tomorrow to try out, but she preferred to get it done and over with.

So, instead of watching or stretching like she normally did during lessons, she read over the script a bunch of times until it was time for her to go to the theatre room with the rest of the students that were auditioning, which included Mytho and Fakir. Ahiru wasn’t sure why Fakir was trying out, but she assumed it was because Mytho was. Or maybe Mytho was trying out because Fakir was? Ahiru couldn’t tell.

Ahiru sat with all of the other students that were waiting to audition. She was going to be one of the first people to go up today and she was practically shaking with excitement. Her first play audition of the year, and her first time trying for one of the lead roles. She hated to admit the only reason she was trying out for Juliet was because Mytho was trying out for Romeo, but it was true. If it hadn’t been for that fact, she probably would have only aimed for a background character instead.

Thankfully, she went up next. Ahiru walked to the center of the small stage with the script in her hand and cleared her throat before she took a deep breath. She checked her script before putting it down and beginning. As she spoke, she put a lot of emotion into her words, and her expression showed the emotions that she couldn’t put into the words. When she finished, the two upperclassmen who were doing the auditions clapped for her. Ahiru smiled sheepishly and quickly got off the stage for the next person to go up.

Ahiru grabbed her stuff and walked back home. She walked slowly to take the time to admire how beautiful the walk from the school to Edel’s house was. It was slowly turning into Autumn and the leaves on the trees were starting to turn into beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow before they would fall. She sighed, too focused on the leaves to realize someone had tapped her shoulder. She jumped back a bit and ran into whoever was trying to get her attention.

“Idiot!” She heard from above her as two hands grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling.

Ahiru looked up and smiled a bit. “Oh, hi Fakir!”

“Um… Hello. I just wanted to see if you wanted me to walk you home..” Fakir seemed… Embarrassed? The slight blush on his cheeks made Ahiru giggle.

“Sure!” Ahiru smiled and started walking beside him. “You’re trying out for the part of Romeo in the play, right?”

Fakir nodded. “I’m only trying out because Mytho is… Um, your performance was really good today..”

Ahiru blushed lightly. “Th-thank you Fakir! I didn’t get to see yours, but I’m sure it was great!”

Fakir looked away as a dark blush heated his cheeks. “Thanks…” The rest of the way to Ahiru’s house was spent in a slightly awkward silence that neither of them seemed to know how to break.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Fakir!” Ahiru waved to him before she tripped on her way into her house.

“Yeah, see you…” Fakir had started to walk away with a slight grin on his face. “...Idiot…”

After two days of waiting, the roles were finally posted outside the theatre room. Ahiru waited for the crowd around the paper to disperse before she had attempted to find her name. She got to the front of the small crowd and gasped when she saw “Juliet: Ahiru Arima” at the top. Some of the students had congratulated her while others, mostly girls, had glared at her. They were probably mad that little Ahiru had gotten the part instead of them. Soon a girl that was a year or so above her had walked over to Ahiru with a tight, obviously forced, smile. She had long curly black hair that was tied back into a bun and reddish-brown eyes. She had towered over Ahiru by a few inches, but Ahiru was used to people being taller than her by now. “Um… Hello!” Ahiru had said as she smiled brightly.

“Hello…” The girl held her hand out for Ahiru to shake, and she took it gently. “I’m Rue. You’re Ahiru, right?” Ahiru nodded. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Ahiru. I’m looking forward to working with you on the play.”

Rue had turned and left after having said that. Ahiru looked back at the list and saw Rue had gotten the role as her understudy. While looking at the list, Ahiru had also noticed that Mytho was going to play Romeo! And that Fakir was his understudy.

Ahiru quickly walked to the ballet classroom while nearly bursting with joy. Lillie and Pike rushed over to her with smiles on their faces. “I told you you’d get the part!” Lillie said.

“I thought you said she was going to fail..” Pike said with a confused expression.

“Shh!” Lillie shushed the other girl, a huge smile still on her face. “I said it was a possibility! Anyway… We’re so happy for you!”

The two girls ‘squee’d and hugged Ahiru tightly. She still couldn’t even believe she had gotten the main role as Juliet…

After her ballet class, Ahiru walked across the hall to the theatre room where they were practicing. She couldn’t wait to start rehearsing, and quickly got up on stage with Mytho and the other students. The version of the play they were doing involved ballet, so she stayed in her leotard and pointe shoes. The understudies sat back and watched them as they practiced.

Ahiru still, even as she was rehearsing, couldn’t believe she had gotten this part. She didn’t know why… It was as if it were only a dream, and that she was soon to wake up from it. If it were a dream, she didn’t want to awaken.


	6. Wisps of Thought

Sadly, like with all dreams, Ahiru eventually had to wake up. And of course she woke up from it only a few weeks into the play.

Whilst practicing one of the dancing scenes, suddenly Mytho had misplaced his foot and had fallen, breaking his foot in 3 different places. That meant for the rest of the play, Ahiru was going to have to do with Fakir. Ahiru had to force herself not to pout at that news. She didn’t want to have to work with Fakir again! He was absolutely unbearable! But… She also didn’t want to just drop out of the play. She knew she would regret it if she did, since she’s never gotten the lead role in a play.

So instead, she sucked it up and continued on rehearsing no matter how much Fakir yelled at her–and she of course yelled back. She wasn’t going to let some mean ol’ jerk get the best of her! Though, no matter how much Fakir and her fought, the theatre teacher never did intervene. In fact, Ahiru was pretty sure he had actually liked seeing the two fight, exclaiming that they were having a “lover’s quarrel”. The very thought of her and Fakir being a couple made her stomach churn. Every time that their theatre teacher, Mr. Drosselmeyer, had said anything that had even remotely suggested that Fakir and Ahiru were a couple made both of them stop shouting suddenly and go very red in the face. Although it was funny seeing Fakir all flustered like that–and not at all like his usual composed self–Ahiru still didn’t like the way Mr. Drosselmeyer always mentioned how they would make a good couple. Ahiru kind of thought he was blind, because everyone in their class knew that they couldn’t stand each other. It was always a surprise when the two weren’t rehearsing and not at each others’ throats. Even sometimes while rehearsing they would slip up and start arguing. This only fueled Drosselmeyer’s, and even a few of the student’s, obsession that the two were “perfect for each other”.

Though… Ahiru always told herself, and others, that she hated Fakir’s guts with all her being, but she actually wasn’t 100% sure how she felt about him. Sure, they argued a whole lot, and they both got on each others’ nerves all the time, there were still rare moments when Fakir would smile at Ahiru’s clumsiness, or Fakir made Ahiru laugh at something kind of mean he would say about someone else. The other day Fakir had commented on how one of the guys stepped like an elephant on the stage, and this had made Ahiru snort and then blush lightly. Ahiru couldn’t deny the little ebbing in her stomach whenever she saw him–it was a nice feeling, like a small pinch that made her feel a bit giddy inside–and yet other times when she saw him, or even thought about him, it practically ruined her day with the thoughts of them fighting again. And then sometimes it makes her feel sad because she knows the only reason he even talks to her is because they have to work on the play together.

And…

Sometimes…

She feels all of those emotions at once, and it makes her confused. So confused, because how could she feel all of those swirling emotions inside her about one person which she thought she was supposed to despise…

Ahiru had those thoughts brushed from her mind as she felt a sudden pressure on her foot. She yelped and pulled away from Fakir while glaring at him. “Jerk! That was my foot!” She shouted.

“Idiot-! I wouldn’t have stepped on it if you had been paying attention like you should be, and had moved your foot out of the way like you should have!” Fakir shouted back.

A few of the students in the background sighed and shook their heads, muttering “here we go again”.

This was a daily occurrence. Something happened, whether it had been Fakir’s fault, Ahiru’s fault, or no one’s fault, and Ahiru would blame Fakir for it, Fakir would find a way to pin it on Ahiru, they would argue back and forth until either they both gave up, or Mr. Drosselmeyer said something about them being a couple. It was tiring and they were both starting to run out of things to argue about. For instance, the other day Fakir and Ahiru had fought about little things that didn’t even matter. It was almost as if they were both only grasping straws, trying to keep everything normal. Neither person knew why they felt they had to keep fighting. It was like they both thought they were beginning to get to close, so they pick fights to keep the other away…

Once again, Ahiru found herself contemplating this and had accidentally tread on Fakir’s foot.

“Idiot!” He shouted once again.

Instead of calling him some other childish name back, Ahiru muttered a quiet “sorry”. Fakir looked down at her with a look of mild surprise on his face, his eyebrows raised and his eyes widened, before he quickly got a look of indifference on his face. “It’s… fine… Let’s just continue…” He had felt almost shocked at her attitude now. What happened? Just a moment ago she was fighting with him, but now she seemed… submissive? No, that wasn’t the word…

Fakir brushed it off, telling himself that she was just lost in thought like she always was.


	7. Thinking, Thinking, Thinking

After a few weeks, Mr. Drosselmeyer was starting to get bored with the way the story–ahem, play was progressing and eventually he gathered up all of the students in the play to make an announcement.

“I have decided, after seeing the way the play has progressed so far, that I will be adding a new scene. Or should I say, I will be adding a kiss between our Romeo and Juliet. Yes, yes, I know the script we’re using does not call for a kiss, I still want it to be added! That’s all, continue on with your rehearsing.”

Ahiru’s big blue eyes widened at his words and, even though the group on students was dispersing, she still stayed put with a look of shock. A kiss?! Her mind screamed. With Fakir?! That jerk is going to be the one to take my first kiss?!

For some reason, that thought didn’t make Ahiru as mad as it should have. She hated him! So why didn’t the thought of kissing him repulse her? She must be in shock–that was the only reason!

Meanwhile, Fakir was shocked by this as well, only he actually had the sense to move when the other students were. He had to kiss that little pest! Preposterous!

But… The script calls for it, and it is already too late to drop out now… I’ll just have to deal with it… They both decided. So, Ahiru snapped out of her shocked-state and walked up to the stage with Fakir while Mr. Drosselmeyer explained what he had in mind for how and where the kiss would take place.

After going over it a few times, the man stepped back and let Ahiru and Fakir practice the impromptu scene. It took a couple tries to get it right, but soon they came close to the kiss. Both Fakir and Ahiru were slowly leaning in, their eyes closed tightly, and…

...The bell rang.

Ahiru let out a relieved breath and quickly pulled away. She grabbed her stuff and ran out of the theatre room silently, only waving a small goodbye to Fakir.

When she was completely off school property, she finally let herself let out a sigh. Soon her thoughts drifted to the almost-kiss and her cheeks heated up. Ahiru stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and covered her warm cheeks. Stupid Mr. Drosselmeyer! Why did he have to add the kiss?! Is he trying to make my life miserable?! Ahiru took a deep breath. She knew she was being irrational in thinking that–she knew he probably only added the extra scene because the play seemed too short–and Ahiru knew she shouldn’t blame the man for her own feelings toward Fakir. It’s only natural that I would have feelings for him… She thought, making her cheeks heat up further. F-feelings of hate of course! Right… Hate… Even her own mind doubted that fact.

Ahiru looked around to realize that she was still just standing in the middle of the sidewalk and quickly started walking again. Once again, the thought of mean old Fakir taking her first kiss surfaced and she decided right there that she would somehow convince Mr. Drosselmeyer to take the kiss out of the play. She knew it would be easier for her to just drop out of the play, but she didn’t want to give Fakir the satisfaction of knowing he was the reason she left. Ahiru sighed and continued on her way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the short chapter and how long it took for me to update. I don't have an excuse, other than schoolwork and that still is not a very good one.


	8. R&J: More Tragic Backstage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I decided to at least give you guys this because I have it written and it hadn't been uploaded yet so it was bugging me so here you go~

Ahiru knew she would have to face Fakir, and that kiss, the next day, but she decided she wouldn’t think about it for the rest of the day. When she walked up to her porch, she was surprised to see a moving truck in front of the house across from Edel’s own house. Ahiru briefly wondered who was moving in, but she guessed she would find out soon enough. She unlocked the door and walked into the house. She hopped up the stairs and walked into her room. Ahiru let a small sigh escape her. She still felt giddy inside from the almost-kiss, and disgusted at herself for feeling that way. It was  _ Fakir _ ! That mean ole grumpy pants! Yet… He still had his attractive features… Like his tan skin, his taut muscles, his stunningly green eyes… Ahiru shook her head. Bad thoughts! Bad Thoughts! 

She sighed again. Checking the clock, she decided she should do her homework and take a nap before making dinner for her and Edel. 

…

It was as if the gods had heard her pleas and gave Ahiru a reason to postpone that kiss. When Ahiru woke up the next morning, she had a high fever and could barely get out of bed to go to the bathroom on her own. Edel called off work to stay home and take care of her. 

Ahiru was sick for 3 days before she could go back to school. 

On the first day, it was just her and Edel. The next, Pike and Lillie stopped by to take care of her while Edel was at work. 

On the last day, Fakir stopped by to run some lines with her, thankfully skipping over the kissing scenes. When he left that afternoon, he had a slight red tint to his cheeks. “I’ll, uh, see you at school…” He said. 

Ahiru smiled happily. “See ya!” 

…

It turns out while she was gone, Rue had filled in for her. Though for some reason in the three days she wasn’t there, they didn’t even do the scene Ahiru had been dreading, and for some reason it made Ahiru feel relieved. She didn’t know why, but the thought of someone else kissing Fakir made Ahiru really mad. 

She walked into the theatre room with Fakir after her ballet class with a slight smile. Over the course of the three days, Ahiru had thought about the scene and after assessing the pros and cons of it, decided not to try to convince Mr. Drosselmeyer to change the play back. She figured the kiss would add a little spark to the play that the other script lacked before. Also, even though she would  _ never  _ admit it out loud, she really wanted to kiss Fakir. 

She set her bag down and pulled out her script. “Where are we starting?” 

Drosselmeyer leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. “Hm… Let’s start with where we left off before our Juliet got sick. Which is…” He flipped through his script. “Act 1, Scene 5.” 

Ahiru let out a small sigh and got in place. 

Fakir started by taking Ahiru’s hand. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” 

Ahiru paused before saying her lines in a surprisingly steady voice, “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”

The continued with a few lines before Fakir said, “...Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take…” And leaned in to press his lips against hers, almost hesitantly. Their lips seemed to fit together perfectly, and Ahiru swore she felt a slight spark when they met. He pulled away and stared down into her eyes before he continued, “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”

Ahiru looked down at her script and replied in a slightly shaky voice, “Th-then have m-m-my…” She stopped and tried again, “Then have m-my l-l-lips…” She opened her mouth trying to push the words out. Her face was as red as a tomato and she turned towards Mr. Drosselmeyer. “C-can we take a small b-b-break?” 

The old teacher sighed and waved his hand dramatically. “Fine, go ahead.” 

Ahiru let out a sigh of relief and quickly hopped off the stage and walked out into hall. She leaned against the wall beside the door and took deep breaths to try to calm her erratically beating heart. By now, she couldn’t deny the butterflies in that were in her stomach, nor how hot her cheeks felt.  She took another deep breath and a drink from the drinking fountain on the opposite wall before returning to the theatre room. 

“Okay, I’m ready…” She said as she got back up on the stage. 

“Pick up where you left off, then,” Drosselmeyer said. 

Ahiru nodded and looked down at her script as Fakir spoke, “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”

Ahiru gently cleared her throat, “Then have my lips the sin that they have took…”

“Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again…” Fakir leaned down to press his lips against her’s once again. 

Instead of calling for another break like she wished, Ahiru stayed in character and recited her lines, “You kiss by th’ book...” 

…

After weeks and weeks of rehearsing, it was finally showtime.

Ahiru paced nervously around backstage while she was waiting for her cue to go on. 

At last, she heard the nurse, who was being played by one of the upperclassmen named Hermia, call for Juliet, and Ahiru walked out onto the stage. 

The play went on smoothly, save for when Ahiru nearly started to stutter again after the first kiss. Ahiru said all of her lines with passion, as she felt that she really  _ was  _ Juliet Capulet, a girl doomed to never be together with her true love. 

Finally, it came time for her to say her final lines, “Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O, happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die.” She picked up Romeo’s dagger and pretended to stab herself, collapsing beside her love. 

After a few more minutes of other people discovering their bodies and talking, the curtain fell. Both Ahiru and Fakir stood up and Ahiru turned toward Fakir with a gleeful expression. “We did it!” She said, her smile becoming infectious, as Fakir couldn’t help but smile as well. 

“Yes, we did,” he replied. He was soon surprised as Ahiru gave him a tight hug. She pulled away slightly, embarrassment making her cheeks turn red.

“Sorry, I’m just… I’m so happy I didn’t mess up!” Her face turned even more red as she stared up at him, willing herself not to look down at the ground. 

“It’s…” Fakir’s voice faltered. “It’s fine…” Unable to break his gaze away, he started to lean down, his lips coming dangerously close to her’s. 

Someone cleared their throat and they quickly pulled apart. Ahiru looked over to see Rue standing there with an almost malicious-looking smirk. “Come on, play’s over. You two don’t have to pretend to like each other anymore.” 

“Right… I’ll see you in ballet tomorrow, Ahiru,” Fakir said, quickly walking away. 

Ahiru watched him go, tears burning in her blue eyes. “Yeah…” She muttered as she walked in the opposite direction. “Only pretending…”


End file.
